Education

America's children are her greatest resource, and federal support for public education is essential to ensuring that our young people can fulfill their potential and grow into the leaders, innovators, and productive workers of tomorrow. As a product of our state's public university system and a career educator myself, I have always regarded education as my highest priority in the Congress. My successful legislative initiatives include the Advanced Technological Education program at the National Science Foundation, which supports innovative curricula and teaching methods at community colleges; the law making interest on student loans tax-deductible; and national scholarships for prospective teachers modeled on our state's successful Teaching Fellows program.

Today, the challenges facing our education system are many, from reforming and improving the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, or "No Child Left Behind"), to making sure children from all walks of life, including those with disabilities, have equal opportunities to learn. In order to keep the doors of opportunity open to all students who strive for a bright future, we must ensure that a college education is accessible and affordable; I have supported student loan reforms which have eliminated "middlemen" and made more funds available to students on better terms. We must also take additional steps to attract and retain teachers and to provide our students with the resources they need to succeed.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I am fighting to avoid teacher layoffs and other ill-advised cuts in education funding. I believe strongly that quality education is the essential key to our economic competitiveness and prosperity, and that current efforts to cut education funding in the name of reducing the budget are dangerously misguided and counterproductive.

As your Representative, I will continue to fight to preserve and expand educational opportunities in the Fourth District and throughout the country. As Congress continues to debate education policy, I hope you will keep in touch with your views.

Additional Resources

The U.S. Department of Education

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Student Loans

North Carolina's Department of Public Instruction

Wake County Public Schools

Durham Public Schools

Orange County Schools

Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools

At left, Rep. Price accepts the John Tyler Caldwell Award, the North Carolina Humanities Council's highest honor. The award recognizes individuals who through their lives and careers have strengthened the educational, cultural and civic life of North Carolinians. Read Rep. Price acceptance remarks here.